Schumer: Border Security Not a Prerequisite for Amnesty

At a press conference Thursday, Senator Schumer (D–N.Y.) let it be known that the only purpose of the "comprehensive immigration reform" effort is mass legalization and increases in future legal immigration. Border security is not something the Democratic leadership is taking seriously. Those who believe that there is some agreement among political interests that border security and other measures would be in place before 11 million illegal aliens are legalized are discovering that the high-immigration side of the debate has no intention of actually seeing our laws enforced. As the Daily Caller explained:

"We are not using border security as an excuse or block to path of citizenship", [Schumer] said in the press conference.

The blueprint's call for a secure border will help make a deal, but won't be linked to citizenship awards or be allowed to block or trigger citizenship for illegals, he said.

"We just want to make sure, this is very important both substantively and politically, that there is a secure border, [but] we are not going to use it as a battering ram to prevent the 11 million from gaining a path to citizenship."

In other words, whether the border is secure is not of any serious interest to the Democratic leadership busy negotiating a framework for a "comprehensive" immigration bill. Yes, they will continue to give lip service to the concept of secure borders, but legalizing all 11 million illegal aliens is the only true agenda item. This is problematic for a number of reasons, not least of which is the fact that amnesties always result in increased illegal immigration. People respond to messaging and amnesties send the message that illegal entry is a legitimate, and oftentimes quick, path to U.S. citizenship. Amnesty without secure borders, a working exit-tracking system, and mandatory E-Verify (at the least) will result in a new wave of illegal immigration that will have to be addressed in the near future, perhaps through yet another amnesty bill.

The one proposal that seemed designed to require that the borders be secured before illegal aliens receive green cards was a commission made up of Southwest governors and other interested parties with some tie to the border region who would be responsible for "certifying" that the border is secure. But even that small level of verification has been revealed to be a joke, an effort to trick Americans into believing that advocates of the "comprehensive" bill support the rule of law. At the press conference, Schumer has let the cat out of the bag:

Schumer also shot down a suggestion that an outside group — such as a panel of state governors — could be given the power to decide when the border is secure.

That decision, sometimes dubbed a "trigger", can't be delegated to a committee, he said.

"It would be unconstitutional to delegate things to that committee," he said.

He downplayed worries that a White House-appointed DHS secretary would begin the amnesty before the committee was convinced the border is secure.

"The advisory committee and the DHS will in all likelihood agree" when the border is secure and the 11 million can get citizenship, he said.

Hilarious. Schumer explains that the panel will not have any power, and suggests that it will be pressured into certifying that the border is secure by the Department of Homeland Security. Schumer's statement is really a confirmation of information that surfaced earlier in the week during a conference call held by amnesty advocates. Democratic senators assured amnesty advocates that the commission would not be constructed in a way that would hold up the process for too long. In other words, the panel serves no purpose other than to perpetuate the myth that the border is secure. A new GAO report illustrates that our borders are far from secure.

One question now is whether Senator Rubio will pull out of the "Gang of Eight" since this trigger mechanism — something he has championed — has now been revealed to be a fraud.

The latest developments bolster the argument that "comprehensive" immigration bills with immediate legalization and promises of future enforcement are a non-starter for those interested in honest enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.

The Center for Immigration Studies is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit research organization founded in 1985.
It is the nation's only think tank devoted exclusively to research and policy analysis of the economic, social, demographic,
fiscal, and other impacts of immigration on the United States.